Four Stars of Valor: The Combat History of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II [Hardcover]

Phil Nordyke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2006

Hailing from the big cities and small towns of America, these young men came together to serve their country and the greater good. Preparing for war, they came of age in what arguably became the best parachute infantry regiment to descend upon a Europe beset by World War II. They were the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division (the All Americans), and their story is told here by their official historian Phil Nordyke. Drawing on interviews with surviving veterans and oral history recordings as well as official archives and unpublished written accounts from over 300 veterans of the 505th PIR and their supporting units, Nordyke brings the history of the regiment to life, conveying with remarkable immediacy and power what it was like to be there: to liberate the first town in France; to spearhead the invasion of Sicily in the first American mass combat jump to fight at the forefront of six major campaigns (Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Normandy, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Germany); to jump into Normandy as the only U.S. parachute regiment with combat experience. This is history as it was lived by the men of the 505th, from their pre-war coming of age in the regiment, through the end of World War II, when they marched in the Victory Parade up Fifth Avenue in New York, to the post-war legacy of having been part of an elite parachute regiment with a record unsurpassed in the annals of combat.

Editorial Reviews

Review

WWII History Magazine, May 2007
"Few authors love the 82nd Airborne Division more than Phil Nordyke. His earlier books, All American, All the Way and The All Americans in World War II, chronicle the division's exploits in the Mediterranean and European theaters; Four Stars of Valor is his way of honoring one of the division's stellar regiments--the 505th...Basing his book on extensive archival research as well as the memoirs and interviews of over 300 veterans, Nordyke takes the reader from the 505th's prewar days, through basic and airborne training, and into the unfriendly skies above enemy-held territory, conveying with remarkable immediacy and power what it was like to be an American airborne trooper engaged in heavy combat during World War II...Four Stars of Valor is essential reading for anyone moved by the American fighting man's courage, discipline, and devotion to duty."

Military Book Club
"Author Phil Nordyke, voted official historian of the 505th Regimental Combat Team in 2003, provides an unparalleled view of one of WW II's premier units guaranteed to quench anyone’s thirst for true-combat reading."

Book Description

Drawing on oral and unpublished written accounts from over 300 veterans of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Phil Nordyke brings the history of the regiment to life, conveying with remarkable immediacy and power what it was like to be there. This is history as it was lived by the men of the 505th, from their pre-war coming of age in the regiment, through the end of World War II, when they marched in the Victory Parade down Fifth Avenue in New York. The 505th is the only regiment to earn to have earned four gold stars for their parachute wings, one for each of their four combat jumps.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press; 1st edition (November 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760326649
• ISBN-13: 978-0760326640
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #804,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Profile of One of the Finest Combat Regiments Ever, December 14, 2006

By 

Rick Rogers - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Stars of Valor: The Combat History of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II (Hardcover)

By the time the troops of the 101st Airborne of "Band of Brothers" fame jumped into Normandy on D-Day, the men of the 82nd Airborne Division had already made two combat jumps -- leading the invasion of Sicily and saving the beachhead at Salerno, Italy. Arguably the finest and fiercest regiment of the 82nd was the 505th and Phil Nordyke has compiled an excellent profile of this group of remarkable warriors whose exploits on the field of battle are second to none but who have not received nearly the attention they deserve. Nordyke's work goes a long way toward correcting that. The author does a wonderful job of setting the stage in each chapter as he tracks the regiment from its formation and training in the states, through its deployment to North Africa, and then on to the battlegrounds in Sicily, Italy, Normandy, Holland, the Bulge, on into Germany, and then home. But after getting you onto the scene, he deftly hands the story of each action over to the veterans who tell the real story, in their own words, of what they experienced and what they accomplished. As a relative of one of the heroes of the 505, I too salute Phil Nordyke for this excellent book and recommend it highly to any serious student of the history of WWII. A word of warning, however: come prepared to spend time with this book. The stories told by the hundreds of veterans mentioned in this book are far too rich and compelling to be scanned. They deserve to be savored, and honored.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent New Book, November 28, 2006

By 

Paul Woodadge "Battlefield Tour Guide" (Normandy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Stars of Valor: The Combat History of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II (Hardcover)

This book is an authoritative study of the 505th in WWII. The unit's story has been part-told many times before, often patchily, inaccurately and lacking in detail. Expertly weaving veterans' accounts, genuine WWII reports and new analysis, Phil Nordyke provides us with a brilliant account of the exploits of this famed PIR. I suspect it's lack of photos will disappoint some casual readers, but not me. The 82nd Airborne is very adequately covered photographically in other books - including one by Nordyke himself. What has been missing before is a detailed text, which this book more than amply provides. The maps are great and the extensive index makes searching for people and places easy - I hate books without an index, they take an author/publisher a long time to prepare but they seperate average books from excellent ones - well done Phil!

I'm already looking forward to the next volumes on 507th, 508th, 504th, 325th etc etc etc.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars World Class Airborne Unit Biography, November 19, 2006

By 

Barry O'Shea "friend of the WW II Airborne" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Four Stars of Valor: The Combat History of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II (Hardcover)

In this book about the 505 PIR, Phil Nordyke has accomplished what Stephen Ambrose achieved with "Band of Brothers" (506 PIR). He has successfully interviewed over 500 veterans, family and friends to create a masterful piece of storytelling about one of the most important secret weapons of WW II-the US Army's Airborne Soldiers. And he has done it before the members of "The Greatest Generation" pass on. The 505's record 4 combat jumps was at the tip of the spear wherever we needed a victory at a decisive engagement in the European Theater-Sicily, Salerno/Naples, Ste Mere Eglise/Normandy, and Nijmegen/Holland. But perhaps their greatest jump was not from an airplane, but rather the back of a truck in Belgium's Ardennes Forest as the 82&101 Airborne Divisions helped stop Hitler's desperate gamble at The Battle of the Bulge in the bone chilling winter of 1944-45. I have had the privelege to meet many of the veterans quoted in this book during a trip back to the battlefields of Europe for the 60th Anniversary of DDay in June 2004. These WW II airborne veterans were treated like kings wherever they traveled as the Europeans who were liberated by these citizen soldiers ensured that they were celebrated as heroes. It was so impressive to see these Europeans emotionally introduce their children and grandchildren to these veterans who saved their lives from the yoke of Nazi tyranny. I salute Phil Nordyke for giving this unit the lasting history it so greatly deserves. His book also will help the families and friends of those whose members never came home or refused to discuss the war before they died. This book should be mandatory reading for all current active duty Airborne, Ranger and Special Forces soldiers/officers around the world. AIRBORNE All The Way!

Barry O'Shea (former USArmy CPT)
Colorado Springs, CO